Mobvoi to add NFC payments to smartwatches in China

PAYING ON TIC: NFC payments are coming to Mobvoi’s Android smartwatches in China

Owners of Mobvoi’s Ticwatch will soon be able to make NFC payments at contactless terminals across China as the result of a partnership between the smartwatch maker, China UnionPay (CUP) and Oberthur Technologies (OT).

The user will need to download the Ticpay app on their smartphone, then scan an existing payment card to add it to the service.

“Mobvoi’s Ticwatch is by far the best selling Android smartwatch in China since its launch in September 2015,” OT says. “To make a purchase, users will just need to wave their Ticwatch in front of a contactless CUP payment terminal in the near future.

“In order to secure the CUP payment service running on Mobvoi’s smartwatches, Pearl by OT embedded secure element was chosen.”

“We believe that contactless payment is the revolutionary payment lifestyle enabled by wearable devices,” says ZhiFei Li, founder and CEO of Mobvoi. “With this in mind, we are developing the wearable technologies to provide a secure, efficient and seamless payment experience to all our users.

“In addition, whilst the service will be initially available in China, we would like to bring this service to our global audience and continue this collaboration.”